Having their toddlers looked after in the immediate vicinity of the university -
employees will have this option from autumn next year. The new large day care centre is currently being built on Uhlhornsweg.
An unusual building is currently growing on the edge of the Haarentor campus: the new building opposite the open-air hall, whose frame, façade, doors and windows are made entirely of wood, is an eye-catcher in the neighbourhood - even if it is currently still surrounded by scaffolding, a crane and containers.
In the second half of next year, ten children aged between six months and three years will be scurrying around here: The university is setting up a so-called large day care centre on the site of the former caretaker's houses. The new wooden building will also be used for the university's holiday childcare in future.
"The large day care centre is an alternative to a crèche. It provides company-supported childcare in a flexible setting," explains Angelika Müller, Head of Family Services at the university. In this form of childcare, up to ten children - usually under the age of three - are cared for together by a pedagogical specialist and a qualified day carer. At the university's facility, two additional permanent substitutes provide support in the event of holiday or illness. This care is to be provided by a contracted service provider with the relevant expertise.
"Our employees' need for childcare places has been growing for years," reports Jörg Stahlmann, Vice President for Administration and Finance. The new childcare offer is now intended to further promote the compatibility of academic appointments and family life, especially as there is a shortage of crèche places in the region. The university decided in favour of the large-scale daycare model because it could only implement childcare in this form. In addition, the large daycare centre makes it possible, for example, to take in children whose parents do not live in Oldenburg "As a university, we have a wide catchment area, so we also want to be able to offer childcare to employees who live in the surrounding area," says Müller.
Bargaining for every centimetre
The two-storey, barrier-free building on Uhlhornsweg is expected to be completed in late summer next year. The total cost of the construction project is 1.9 million euros. The associated 656 square metre site is trapezoidal and elongated. Optimising the use of this space was a real headache for the planners from the architectural firm Angelis und Partner in Oldenburg: In addition to the building and outdoor play areas, the site also had to accommodate rubbish bins, sheds and bicycle stands, for example. "We sometimes had to haggle over centimetres to fit everything in," says Müller.
The recently completed shell of the building already gives an idea of how harmoniously everything will fit together. When the new building, officially named A60/61, is finished, the day care centre will have a large group room with a building corner and platform as well as a kitchenette on the ground floor. At the back is the quiet room where the children can sleep. Next to the corridor is a large bathroom with changing tables and children's toilets. In the 440 square metre outdoor area, the girls and boys can swing, climb, dash through willow tunnels and play in the sand - or race around a small track on bobby cars.
All-day care from Mondays to Fridays
All-day childcare is planned from Mondays to Fridays. The centre will be run by the Familienservice Weser-Ems (FWE) association, which operates numerous large daycare centres in the Oldenburg region and East Frisia. "We have been working with the association for a long time on holiday childcare and have had good experiences," reports Müller.
In future, the university's family service will continue to offer childcare for students' and employees' children during the Easter, summer and autumn holidays - and will use the new building for this purpose. "The service is in high demand and we have significantly expanded it in recent years," says Müller. However, it has become increasingly difficult to find suitable premises for up to 30 three to twelve-year-olds and a smaller group of one to three-year-old children. According to Müller, the parent-child rooms on the Wechloy campus, where holiday childcare has often taken place in the past, were too cramped in the long term. The new building now allows for greater flexibility.
This is because there is plenty of space available on the first floor: A large recreation room and a 63 square metre roof terrace with a sun sail offer adventurous kids plenty of freedom of movement. The groups can also use the university's sports facilities.
Joint craft activities
To ensure that the rooms are not empty outside of the holidays, the family service is planning further offers, such as early musical education or joint baking and craft activities for parents and children. "We also want to offer so-called study Saturdays for student parents," reports Müller. Students can then work in the library while their children are looked after.
The building shell of the timber frame construction has been in place since mid-October and the roof is also finished. "The building will be one of the most energy-efficient buildings at the university," explains Meik Möllers, Head of Building Management. The heating utilises renewable geothermal energy, the well-insulated timber building envelope and a ventilation system with heat exchanger reduce energy losses in winter. In summer, the heat exchanger provides cooling, and windows with solar control glazing are designed to prevent excessive heating.
"If everything goes according to plan, the interior work will be finished at the end of March or beginning of April," reveals Möllers. The rooms then need to be furnished and the outside area designed - so that ten adventurous tots can move in by autumn at the latest.
The family service is not yet accepting registrations for the large daycare centre. Next spring, all employees will be informed about the registration process via a staff email.
